Zoe Cormier » Travel

Greenheart: Scotland’s brave new world

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:31:29 +0000

Picturesque Edinburgh, itself a UNESCO world heritage site. Photo Credit: Zoe Cormier

After centuries of English domination, the Scots are taking back their country, reclaiming national identity as the Edinburgh Parliament slowly wrests control from London, gaining new parcels of sovereignty bit by bit. The pride is evident: Blue flags are flying, Gallic lessons are filling up and designers are rebranding men in kilts as – oh yes – sexy.

At the same time, greater national sovereignty has led to a green revolution in Scotland: Old trees are taking root once again; an eco-erotic shop opened in Edinburgh; venison and wild boar adorn organic menus; majestic predatory birds are now nesting; and there’s even talk of bringing wolves back to stalk the hills. With new freedom to set many of its own laws, the Scottish government is taking bolder and more ambitious moves to set higher environmental credentials than almost any other country in the world.

A year ago, the government set for the independent-minded country a legally binding target to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 42 per cent by 2020 over 1990 levels. Half the country’s energy will be supplied by renewable energy, mostly by wind. And thanks to the spectacularly strong swells where the North Sea meets the Atlantic, Scotland is leading the world with groundbreaking tidal- and wave- power projects. In March, the government picked 10 new projects – including the world’s first commercial wave and tidal plants, prompting First Minister Alex Salmond to dub Scotland the “Saudi Arabia of marine energy.” Up to a third of the United Kingdom’s energy needs may one day be served by the seas. First up for tidal power: the idyllic island of Islay, home to the world’s “peatiest” – meaning smokiest – whiskies, such as Laphroaig and Bowmore.

Rail lines are being electrified, including between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Forests are being replanted; rather than the postwar monocultures of evergreen trees for the timber trade, diverse forests of native broad-leafed deciduous trees now flourish. Bird species lost just a century or two ago are being reintroduced, such as eagles and ospreys, thanks to National Trust breeding programs.

And enterprising Scottish citizens are restoring their heritage too. On the Alladale Reserve in the farthest north of the country (home to the luxury Alladale lodge and spa) populations of elk, wild boar and otters are being nurtured. The owner of the private land hopes – controversially – to complete the restoration with the wolves, bears and lynx that used to roam the landscape. More than just nostalgic, such predators would restore the highland’s environment, keeping the country’s sapling-devouring deer population in check.

From predators to peaty whiskies to pleasure products, Scotland’s brave eco-stance beckons.

Wonder at the wayward piles of hexagons on the Isle of Staffa. Photo Credit: Zoe Cormier

A GEOLOGICAL WONDER

Austere and sensible the changes may be, but the Scottish landscape is anything but. Formed from a completely different landmass than England, it is the very definition of sublime: misty mountains, craggy valleys and surprisingly spectacular islands. Take the unrivalled Isle of Staffa. A small, uninhabited rock 10 kilometres from the nearest port, it has been home to a solitary family in the 18th century and, even further back, one lone hermit. There are no trees, no bushes and no boulders (use the loo on shore before heading out), just a handful of nesting seabirds and the occasional seal pup. Not much else, save for a rain-drenched donation box for the National Trust of Scotland hewn into the rock. That’s it.

Except for the rocks – hexagonal basalt columns – and the multicoloured grass covering them. It’s just like the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland (Staffa is the geological tail end of it) except draped sideways. There, I finally understood why anyone would be interested in geology – and why the discipline was born in Scotland. The wayward piles of hexagons, like Play-Doh or cake icing squeezed through a template, look too sequenced to be natural. The soaring and tumbling bunches of basalt literally look painted onto the landscape. Most enchanting of all is Fingal’s Cave – fit to inspire the famous overture by Mendelssohn.

The nearest island is tiny green Iona, famed as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity. A stone’s throw from the cathedral’s ancient tombstones, gardens of leafy salads, potatoes and other vegetables are grown for the Argyll Hotel and the St Columba, certified organic in 2008. The St Columba hotel sources 90 per cent of its salads and 30 per cent of their root vegetables from the garden, heats water with solar energy and creates biodiesel from cooking oil. Both hotels have been recognized by Visit Scotland’s Green Business Tourism Scheme.

Bass Rock is home to the largest single colony of gannets and is the site of the ruins of a 16th-century prison which was the inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson's Catriona. Photo Credit: Zoe Cormier

THE ALCATRAZ OF THE NORTH

Off the coast about a half-hour from Edinburgh lies Bass Rock – described as one of the wildlife wonders of the world by Sir David Attenborough, home to the largest single colony of gannets and the site of the ruins of a 16th-century prison (dubbed the Alcatraz of the North) that was the inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson’s Catriona, the sequel to Kidnapped.

Catch a boat to Bass Rock from the Scottish Sea Bird Centre, home to puffins, seals and the gannets. The centre features a myriad of fun and subtly educational playthings for kids, including remote-controlled cameras that let them explore the islands and zoom in on seals, puffins and gannets from afar.

Or for a more involved experience, from August to April, you can help uproot and control the invasive tree mallow on the neighbouring islands of Craigleith and Fidra. The alien plant (probably introduced on the islands for makeshift toilet paper on account of its broad, soft leaves) grows up to three metres tall and has overrun the islands, blocking burrows and preventing puffins from nesting, causing their population to plummet from 28,000 pairs to just a few thousand. Since the effort began, puffin numbers have started to recover. “We really are seeing a huge difference now – we can see areas of the rock that we haven’t seen in over 10 years,” says Maggie Sheddan of the Craigleith Management Group, a guide on the centre’s boat trips.

There are new threats to the birds though, she says: Changing sea currents linked to climate change have led to declines in the populations of the fish on which the birds feed, meaning they need the help even more.

Special to The Globe and Mail

WHERE TO STAY

St Columba Hotel Isle of Iona, Argyll; 44 (0) 1681-700-304;www.stcolumba-hotel.co.uk. Sustainability awards: Silver – Green Business Tourism Award from Visit Scotland. Double room: $190.

Argyll Hotel Isle of Iona, Argyll; 44 (0) 1681-700-334;www.argyllhoteliona.co.uk. Sustainability award: Gold – Green Business Tourism Award from Visit Scotland. Double room: $144.

Loch Ossian Youth Hostel Corrour, by Fort William; 44 (0) 1397-732-207;www.syha.org.uk/hostels/highlands/loch_ossian.aspx. Sustainability award: Gold – Green Business Tourism Award from Visit Scotland. Cost: $25 a night. Grey-water recycling, solar and wind panels, compost toilets and a vegetable garden – but no showers or fridges.

Apex Waterloo Place Hotel 13-27 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh; 44 (0) 131-523-1819; www.apexhotels.co.uk. Green Business Tourism Scheme. From $134. An urban hotel with eco-friendly chemicals and green policies.

Radisson SAS Glasgow 301 Argyle St., Glasgow; 44 (0) 141-204-3333;www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-glasgow. Gold – Green Business Tourism Award. From $157.

WHERE TO EAT

Iglu 2b Jamaica St., Edinburgh; 44 (0) 131-476-5333; www.theiglu.com. Specializes in organic, wild and local fare at reasonable prices, including vegetarian haggis samosas, Shetland mussels, wild boar and, because you’re in Scotland, Aberdeen Angus rump steak.

Stravaigin 2 8 Ruthven Lane, Glasgow; 44 (0) 141-334-7165;www.stravaigin.com. Global, local, organic, fair trade – the works, with chic and sophisticated decor.

WHAT TO DO

Climb a mountain: After enjoying Arthur’s Seat, head to Cairngorm Mountain (www.cairngormmountain.com; Gold – Green Business Tourism Award from Visit Scotland). If your bones can’t take the hike, trains here generate energy that is sold back to the grid. Cairngorm now offers biodegradable “poo bags” to visitors (yes, human “deposits” were a problem).

Drink whisky: Peaty drams from Islay, such as Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore and Caol Ila, are renowned for their uniquely Scottish smoky flavour. Soon the entire island will be powered by tidal energy. On the mainland, in Speyside, sustainability award-winning Roseisle distillery (operated by Diageo, which owns Johnny Walker) will recycle its water and produce just 15 per cent of the carbon-dioxide emissions of a typical distillery. Cut down on packaging and pour it straight from the cask at boutique shop Demijohn in Glasgow or Edinburgh (www.demijohn.co.uk).

Shop for vintage in Glasgow: Best bet: Starry Starry Night, 19 Dowanside Lane, Glasgow; 44 (0) 141-337-1837. This is the oldest vintage shop here; it features dresses, top hats and opera costumes up to 200 years old.

Explore eco-erotica in Edinburgh: Organic Pleasures, 71 Broughton St., Edinburgh; 44 (0) 131-558-2777; www.organicpleasures.co.uk. Organic satin corsets for $315, blindfolds from $47.25, and more.

Go birding: The Harbour, North Berwick; 44 (0) 1620-890-202; www.sea bird.org. Gold – Green Business Tourism Award from Visit Scotland.

The ultimate field trip

admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:03:19 +0000

You flunked biology. You can’t tell a fossil from a fern. But as Zoe Cormier reports, if you don’t mind a few chores you can still spend your next vacation contributing to science – and having one big adventure

Digging in the dirt, a hot sun overhead, Charlie Bigger felt elated.

It’s true, the 37-year-old had spent most of his week in central Mexico slowly chiselling through rock, then painstakingly brushing out fossils. But he and his team had uncovered an ancient rhinoceros skull and the complete remains of a camel. And then they stumbled on what looked like gnarled tree roots.

“It turned out to be a jaw bone,” says Bigger. A jaw bone, further digging revealed, for an entire wooly mammoth skull that weighed more than 300 pounds. It was only the second such skull ever found in Mexico, a find destined for the annals of paleontology.

Not bad for a guy who isn’t actually a paleontologist. Or even a scientist. In fact, Bigger is a sculptor from Seattle who dropped out of university geology because he was “terrible at chemistry.” His big find? All part of a vacation package that pairs science nuts with professional scientists.

Call it the ultimate field trip: A growing number of research sites are opening their arms to “citizen scientists” – travellers who are not only keen to experience nature, but to study it. At sites from Algonquin Park to Costa Rica, tourists can bunk down with the experts, and even take part in projects ranging from three days to six weeks.

Of course, the digs aren’t always Club Med-worthy. Visitors may sleep on rickety bunk beds or in breezy Nylon tents. Often the guests have to cook for themselves as well, or subsist on non-perishables that can be carried to the field. And while travellers in some spots raise caterpillars or take samples from Icelandic glaciers, other tasks include mailing newsletters and doing laundry.

So why spend up to $2,500 on a scientific “holiday”?

The chance to go green in a meaningful way is part of the appeal. At the Clayoquot Field Station on Vancouver Island, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, visitors stay in shared dorm rooms. But that gives them extraordinary access to what one visitor calls “a museum of nature,” and they get an inside view of professional conservation projects.

“Most people are just aware of the trees, but after a few days here they go away with a better appreciation for everything else, like the fungi and insects,” says George Patterson, who runs the foundation in charge of Clayoquot.

Adventure is another draw. Guests at the Tirimbina Rainforest Center in Costa Rica break up careful monitoring of wildlife – for instance, capturing and measuring bats – with rafting through rapids and aerial tours of volcanoes.

Education itself is the reward on many other retreats. Visitors to the Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station in St. John, a self-described “eco-camp” in a national park, can take guided tours of the beaches or learn about coral reefs. The Desert Studies Center in the Mojave Desert offers three-day courses run by the University of California on birds, geology and archeology.

Or for something more celestial, there’s the Algonquin Radio Observatory, which started hosting tourists this summer.

While the rooms are up to hotel standards, this isn’t your average Muskoka retreat: The observatory houses the largest radio antenna in Canada (46 metres across), has the most accurate clock in the country (called a hydrogen maser) and has its own thermal vacuum chamber (which can heat up or cool down to simulate conditions on Mars).

Guests at ARO can take a guided tour of these facilities, or do their own stargazing through eight-inch refractor telescopes.

“It was pretty wild, and kind of surreal, to see this semi-futuristic, hulking mass of machinery sitting in the middle of the woods,” says Benjamin Tiven, a photographer from Brooklyn, N.Y., who was one of the first visitors this year.

Then there’s the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Manitoba.

It’s welcomed tourists every year since 1976, subsidizing scientific research at the station by offering vacation packages to see the Arctic wildlife, floes and northern lights first-hand. But visitors can also volunteer for anywhere from two to six weeks at the facility. Room and board is free in exchange for six days of work a week.

The work isn’t necessarily glamorous. “What we really need help with are the fairly mundane tasks; mostly we need people in the kitchen,” says Michael Goodyear, executive director of the Centre. But as he points out, “We want people to feel like they contributed in a meaningful way to our research – they don’t have to be scientists to help, they can just come and give us their time to provide the support services we need.”

Take Gerry Mobey, a 43-year-old mechanic from England who has spent more than three years volunteering at CNSC. While he says there’s no guarantee that volunteer vacationers will take part in cutting-edge research, he’s chipped in with everything from repairing snowmobiles to tranquilizing and weighing polar bears and tending to the sled dogs.

As for tourists who are determined to tackle the nuts and bolts of scientific research – logging data, taking measurements and handling equipment – on their next holiday?

One option is a trip booked through the Earthwatch Institute, a Boston-based organization that places laypeople in more than 120 science projects worldwide. Packages usually cost at least $2,000 for five days or more, but they include surveying coral reef biodiversity in Indonesia and tracking elephant migrations in Kenya.

“Most of our researchers wouldn’t get their work done if they didn’t have the volunteers,” says Jeanine Pfeiffer, director of the Earthwatch social sciences program.

More importantly, she adds, “Our overall mission is to inspire people, for them to be more environmentally aware and to change aspects of their lives when they come back.”

It certainly worked for Bigger. His wooly mammoth discovery in Mexico left him “floating.”

And that was his second big science score. Three years ago, his wife booked him his first Earthwatch vacation in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. While her “gift” meant he had to get up every morning at 6:30 and walk half a mile to a blazing hot field site, he says his wife knew he would “rather mess around in the dirt and sleep in a tent than watch TV in a hotel room.” There was also a big payoff when he got home.

“It takes you out of your reality and puts you in a different one,” he says. “It definitely gave me a better appreciation for what it means to be alive.”

Pack your bags

CHURCHILL NORTHERN STUDIES CENTRE Churchill, Man.; 204-675-2307; www.churchillscience.ca. Five-day packages – for example, short courses in astronomy, birding or botany – start at $900. Land and aerial polar bear observation is $2,200 for five days. Room and board is free for volunteer researchers in exchange for six days of work a week.

ALGONQUIN RADIO

OBSERVATORY Algonquin Park, Ontario; 905-713-2884; www.arocanada.com. Stay in the shadow of Canada’s largest telescope starting from $105 a night, plus $45 a day for meal plans (though self-catering is an option).

CLAYOQUOT FIELD STATION 1084 Pacific Rim Hwy, Tofino, B.C.; 250-725-1220; www.tbgf.org. Immersion in a UNESCO biosphere reserve from $32 a night (for a bunk in a shared room of four) up to $120 a night (for a private suite). Guided tours of the reserve are $25 a person.

TIRIMBINA RAINFOREST CENTRE La Tirimbina, Costa Rica; 414-272-2702; www.tirimbina.org. Long-term research stays can cost as little as $15 a night. Shorter room and board starts at $50 a night. Activities such as lessons in frog biodiversity and bat ecology range from $15 to $24.

VIRGIN ISLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE STATION

Lameshur Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; 410-647-2500; www.islands.org/viers. Rooms in wood cabins start at $66 a night. Meals are provided, but guests help with chores.

DESERT STUDIES CENTER Soda Springs, Calif.; 714-278-2428; biology.fullerton.edu/dsc. Three-day courses, meals and board in stripped down dorms are $325.

EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE

www.earthwatch.org. This

organization offers more than 120 research vacations.

Digging in the dirt, a hot sun overhead, Charlie Bigger felt elated.

It’s true, the 37-year-old had spent most of his week in central Mexico slowly chiselling through rock, then painstakingly brushing out fossils. But he and his team had uncovered an ancient rhinoceros skull and the complete remains of a camel. And then they stumbled on what looked like gnarled tree roots.

“It turned out to be a jaw bone,” says Bigger. A jaw bone, further digging revealed, for an entire wooly mammoth skull that weighed more than 300 pounds. It was only the second such skull ever found in Mexico, a find destined for the annals of paleontology.

Not bad for a guy who isn’t actually a paleontologist. Or even a scientist. In fact, Bigger is a sculptor from Seattle who dropped out of university geology because he was “terrible at chemistry.” His big find? All part of a vacation package that pairs science nuts with professional scientists.

Call it the ultimate field trip: A growing number of research sites are opening their arms to “citizen scientists” – travellers who are not only keen to experience nature, but to study it. At sites from Algonquin Park to Costa Rica, tourists can bunk down with the experts, and even take part in projects ranging from three days to six weeks.

Of course, the digs aren’t always Club Med-worthy. Visitors may sleep on rickety bunk beds or in breezy Nylon tents. Often the guests have to cook for themselves as well, or subsist on non-perishables that can be carried to the field. And while travellers in some spots raise caterpillars or take samples from Icelandic glaciers, other tasks include mailing newsletters and doing laundry.

So why spend up to $2,500 on a scientific “holiday”?

The chance to go green in a meaningful way is part of the appeal. At the Clayoquot Field Station on Vancouver Island, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, visitors stay in shared dorm rooms. But that gives them extraordinary access to what one visitor calls “a museum of nature,” and they get an inside view of professional conservation projects.

“Most people are just aware of the trees, but after a few days here they go away with a better appreciation for everything else, like the fungi and insects,” says George Patterson, who runs the foundation in charge of Clayoquot.

Adventure is another draw. Guests at the Tirimbina Rainforest Center in Costa Rica break up careful monitoring of wildlife – for instance, capturing and measuring bats – with rafting through rapids and aerial tours of volcanoes.

Education itself is the reward on many other retreats. Visitors to the Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station in St. John, a self-described “eco-camp” in a national park, can take guided tours of the beaches or learn about coral reefs. The Desert Studies Center in the Mojave Desert offers three-day courses run by the University of California on birds, geology and archeology.

Or for something more celestial, there’s the Algonquin Radio Observatory, which started hosting tourists this summer.

While the rooms are up to hotel standards, this isn’t your average Muskoka retreat: The observatory houses the largest radio antenna in Canada (46 metres across), has the most accurate clock in the country (called a hydrogen maser) and has its own thermal vacuum chamber (which can heat up or cool down to simulate conditions on Mars).

Guests at ARO can take a guided tour of these facilities, or do their own stargazing through eight-inch refractor telescopes.

“It was pretty wild, and kind of surreal, to see this semi-futuristic, hulking mass of machinery sitting in the middle of the woods,” says Benjamin Tiven, a photographer from Brooklyn, N.Y., who was one of the first visitors this year.

Then there’s the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Manitoba.

It’s welcomed tourists every year since 1976, subsidizing scientific research at the station by offering vacation packages to see the Arctic wildlife, floes and northern lights first-hand. But visitors can also volunteer for anywhere from two to six weeks at the facility. Room and board is free in exchange for six days of work a week.

The work isn’t necessarily glamorous. “What we really need help with are the fairly mundane tasks; mostly we need people in the kitchen,” says Michael Goodyear, executive director of the Centre. But as he points out, “We want people to feel like they contributed in a meaningful way to our research – they don’t have to be scientists to help, they can just come and give us their time to provide the support services we need.”

Take Gerry Mobey, a 43-year-old mechanic from England who has spent more than three years volunteering at CNSC. While he says there’s no guarantee that volunteer vacationers will take part in cutting-edge research, he’s chipped in with everything from repairing snowmobiles to tranquilizing and weighing polar bears and tending to the sled dogs.

As for tourists who are determined to tackle the nuts and bolts of scientific research – logging data, taking measurements and handling equipment – on their next holiday?

One option is a trip booked through the Earthwatch Institute, a Boston-based organization that places laypeople in more than 120 science projects worldwide. Packages usually cost at least $2,000 for five days or more, but they include surveying coral reef biodiversity in Indonesia and tracking elephant migrations in Kenya.

“Most of our researchers wouldn’t get their work done if they didn’t have the volunteers,” says Jeanine Pfeiffer, director of the Earthwatch social sciences program.

More importantly, she adds, “Our overall mission is to inspire people, for them to be more environmentally aware and to change aspects of their lives when they come back.”

It certainly worked for Bigger. His wooly mammoth discovery in Mexico left him “floating.”

And that was his second big science score. Three years ago, his wife booked him his first Earthwatch vacation in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. While her “gift” meant he had to get up every morning at 6:30 and walk half a mile to a blazing hot field site, he says his wife knew he would “rather mess around in the dirt and sleep in a tent than watch TV in a hotel room.” There was also a big payoff when he got home.

“It takes you out of your reality and puts you in a different one,” he says. “It definitely gave me a better appreciation for what it means to be alive.”

Pack your bags

CHURCHILL NORTHERN STUDIES CENTRE Churchill, Man.; 204-675-2307; www.churchillscience.ca. Five-day packages – for example, short courses in astronomy, birding or botany – start at $900. Land and aerial polar bear observation is $2,200 for five days. Room and board is free for volunteer researchers in exchange for six days of work a week.

ALGONQUIN RADIO OBSERVATORY Algonquin Park, Ontario; 905-713-2884; www.arocanada.com. Stay in the shadow of Canada’s largest telescope starting from $105 a night, plus $45 a day for meal plans (though self-catering is an option).

CLAYOQUOT FIELD STATION 1084 Pacific Rim Hwy, Tofino, B.C.; 250-725-1220; www.tbgf.org. Immersion in a UNESCO biosphere reserve from $32 a night (for a bunk in a shared room of four) up to $120 a night (for a private suite). Guided tours of the reserve are $25 a person.

TIRIMBINA RAINFOREST CENTRE La Tirimbina, Costa Rica; 414-272-2702; www.tirimbina.org. Long-term research stays can cost as little as $15 a night. Shorter room and board starts at $50 a night. Activities such as lessons in frog biodiversity and bat ecology range from $15 to $24.

VIRGIN ISLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE STATION Lameshur Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; 410-647-2500; www.islands.org/viers. Rooms in wood cabins start at $66 a night. Meals are provided, but guests help with chores.

DESERT STUDIES CENTER Soda Springs, Calif.; 714-278-2428; biology.fullerton.edu/dsc. Three-day courses, meals and board in stripped down dorms are $325.

EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE www.earthwatch.org. This organization offers more than 120 research vacations.

J’aime le nightlife

admin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:57:12 +0000

The City of Light is, naturally, quite beautiful at night. But cheap spots to enjoy it can be difficult to find – unless you stick to the scene around the Seine.

9pm

LE BAISER SALE

58 RUE DES LOMBARDS

$26 A SHOW

This Paris institution bills itself as “Le temple de fusion” and it’s exactly that – mixed music, a mixed crowd and mixed drinks in a laid-back atmosphere. Drinks are $6 to $9.

10pm

POLITBURO

25 RUE DE ROI DE SICILE

$8 A PINT

It may be a few blocks from the uber-trendy Marais district, but this communist-kitsch hangout sports images of Soviet writers and military parades on the walls – painted red, of course – and draws sincere old lefties (Paris still has plenty). As for the music: The speakers blare The Clash and PJ Harvey. A pint of beer is around $8.

11pm

LA PERLE

78 RUE VIEILLE DU TEMPLE

$4 A GLASS

It’s undeniable: Parisians are beautiful. And as the bloggers who rave (and rant) about this place can attest, this is the place to look at them. Or maybe meet one. This small bar is known as a hook-up spot, but thankfully it doesn’t feel like one. Glasses of wine start at $4.

12am

CAVEAU DE LA HUCHETTE

5 RUE DE LA HUCHETTE

$20 ENTRY

Although this is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Paris (you name an icon, they’ve played here), it draws lots of young clubbers into its cavernous deeps. Drinks are $9.

Dutch for a day

admin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:51:48 +0000

How far can you stretch 24 euros over 12 hours in Amsterdam? Zoe Cormier rents one of the city’s iconic bikes and investigates

9 A.M.

NIEUWMARKT

2 euros ($3) for a few oranges, apples and a banana. Not exactly local gastronomy. But a perfect don’t-break-the-bank-yet breakfast.

10 A.M.

OPENBARE BIBLIOTHEEK

OOSTERDOKSKADE 143

Orange and blue LEDs illuminate the shelves, models that look like molecules hang from the ceiling and readers lounge on spherical furniture – you have to love a culture that makes a library look like a nightclub. The balcony also has the best view of the city. And the price is right: Free.

10:45 A.M.

STAR BIKES

DE RUYTERKADE 105

Just next to the library, 7 euros ($11) gets you a bike for a day. And in this cyclecentric city, citizens on two wheels rule. They have the right of way, their own lanes and traffic lights, and there are no hills. Just be warned: Dutch bikes usually have only one gear (“Why would you need gears when it’s flat?”) and only back-pedal brakes. I quickly learn to brake 10 feet before I actually need to stop. Later, I’m overtaken by an annoyed Dutch octogenarian. Embarrassing.

11 A.M.

AMSTERDAM HISTORICAL MUSEUM

KALVERSTRAAT 92

Entrance to the Schuttersgalerij (the Civic Guards Gallery) is free. Survey portraits of the city’s wealthiest citizens. It’s sort of like seeing a dozen variations on The Night Watch.

11:15 A.M.

THE JORDAAN DISTRICT

Make that a quick survey. Why spend money on a gallery when you can bike around “the Venice of the North” – a floating museum unto itself – for free? The Jordaan district, in particular, is so picturesque it hurts. Most buildings, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, were built on sandy foundations and now list this way and that. But they also prop each other up, so they’re all right. (A metaphor for life?) While gawking, grab a massive order of street fries for a few euros ($3-$6). With mayo, of course.

1:15 P.M.

DE NIEUWE ANITA

FREDERIK HENDRIKSTRAAT 111

It’s 1 Euro ($1.50) for a mint tea at this former squat, now a hip cafe and theatre where movies always have English subtitles. But the vibe is more private home than club. Lounge on a comfy couch with the English paper Amsterdam Weekly.

2:30 P.M.

VONDELPARK

I have never smelled a park like this. It’s genuinely intoxicating. I can hardly believe I’m still in a city. There are canals, ponds, wetlands, shady trees and inviting lawns covered in fluffy ducklings and necking couples. Even the tramps, singing The Harder They Come, look happy.

4 P.M.

BLAUWE TEEHUIS

Since I did not find a proverbial free lunch, I part with 1 euro ($1.50) and scarf a chocolate muffin at the circular cafe in the middle of Vondelpark. I’m still hungry.

4:30 P.M.

AMSTEL RIVER

I cycle up Amstel River. The river sparkles, I get an occasional whiff of salty sea air – and get windburn from the speed. I covet a houseboat.

5:30 P.M.

THE TRAM

I drop off my bike and hop on the No. 9 tram. You buy tickets at the back, not through the driver up front. So I sit down without paying. If they ask, I’ll feign foreign ignorance. They don’t ask.

6 P.M.

BROUWERIJ ‘T IJ

FUNENKADE 7

Tucked under one of the city’s last iconic windmills, the Ij Brewery is open daily until 8 p.m. And there’s not a tourist in sight. Instead, men with paint in their hair, fresh from work, fill the patio, while children and dogs scuttle about. Deliciously wholesome. Best of all, dirt-cheap: 1.70 euros ($2.70) for a pilsner, 2.20 euros ($3.50) for a stronger 9 per cent brew. And for a taste of Dutch simplicity, there are hard-boiled eggs for 0.60 euro ($1). A couple of eggs and a beer: The most efficient tipple I’ve ever had.

8 P.M.

RED-LIGHT DISTRICT

I hop back on tram No. 9, then wander through the red-light district. Just so I can say I did.

8:30 P.M.

DE DAMPKRING COFFEESHOP

HANDBOOGSTRAAT 29

The smoke here is heavy enough to get a second-hand buzz. But c’mon, when in Rome… And it’s only 3 euros ($5) for a pre-rolled treat.

9:30 P.M.

STROOPWAFFLE STOP

Obligingly, Dutch convenience stores stock the best munchies: Stroopwaffles for 1 euros ($1.50). Imagine caramels between thin, flat waffles. Mmm.

10 P.M.

CAFE NAGEL

KROM BOOMSSLOOT 47

I have just enough for one drink at this tiny bar just behind the red-light district. I admire the Art Deco tiled floor and stained-glass windows juxtaposed with orange and blue neon lights. The barman fires up the milk steamer for my order: A hot chocolate with Baileys for 3.50 euros ($5.50). It’s just the right nightcap.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Thirteen hours, 14 kilometres and 23.50 euros (about $37). I’ll take tired legs and a pleasant buzz over an overpriced three-course meal any day.

London Calling

admin — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:00:57 +0000

The intrepid Brits reinvent themselves once again. An insider’s guide to this forward-thinking, earth-friendly tourist Mecca.

Co-authored with Giovanna Dunmall

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